The Login bar should be placed at the top of the page where you can see it!!!  Right now it is awkward and unintuitive sitting HIDDEN halfway down a page that is so long, it must be scrolled to uncover one of the most important elements!!!  I know it links to a somewhat different "secure member portal" website, but the truth of the matter is: Thats half of why we go to idsa.org in the first place!!!

Also, the process of purchasing a membership is awkward and unintuitive, don't alienate potential joiners!!!!  Make it a bold option at the header!!! 

These 2 elements are focal!!! They should be prominent positions and easy to access!!!!!

(I know we are "industrial" designers, not "graphic", but c'mon people, this one's a no brainer!!!)

When asked what are some of the key features of a well polished website are, the most common responses are 'a simple and attractive design' and 'optimal ease of navigation and content'. It was often heard that the previous IDSA website was difficult to navigate and felt pieced together. The result was that it became a poor reflection on our organization as well as our profession- one claiming to be symbiotic with 'usability' and 'interaction' but instead displayed a lack of 'cohesiveness' and 'pertinence'. 

While the new site umbrellas a more encompassing web engine, in truth it feels cluttered, visually unpleasant and even more cumbersome to navigate its content. This is in addition to concerns of editorial ability by chapters and sections, who are now asked to be regular contributors. Previously a number of chapters and sections had been hosting their own sites and are now being asked to relinquish the control of content in order to be umbrella'd into this new site. On top of loosing 'local identity' through ability to customize distinguishing visuals, many feel that the new site brings back a current dilemma we have not yet resolved regarding ownership of content - would articles be owned by the author or the organization? What guidelines have we established for relevant content? Moreover, how can we control the content that will be posted on our pages if 'articles' are sorted by tags (i.e. - anyone writing a blog entry that tags it as pertaining to a particular section - say 'Medical Devices', the article will automatically appear in that section without approval or vetting from the section leaders). This can easily become problematic as postings may become a source of abuse, as once can see happening currently on LinkedIn with group discussions now taken hostage by spammers. Moreover it gives a sense of 'free for all' in which the inmates begin to run the asylum. 

Understandably every site has growing pains and change is often resisted by the masses. However big picture concerns focus on the new website's validation of  the most toxic criticism that the IDSA repeatedly faces today: Relevance. The current site can give new visitors the impression that the organization has dated itself both in aesthetics, functionality as well as the ability to adopt to current social media outlets - something as 'simple' as a webpage. 

One suggestion may be to utilize the look and functionality of other Drupal sites - considering we now have a partnership with Fast Company, why not use their visual design language within our site? In many ways our 'members' and our 'affiliates' are our 'clients' as well. Why not foster a stronger visual cohesion with them? This could help validate the new website direction as well as provide a more familiar content layout for viewers from both parties. 

Websites such as Fast Company, Nowpublic.com, playboy.com, mtv.co.uk, reuters.com, etc succeed in reaching their audiences because they allow their content to create the intrigue essential to keeping visitors reading and exploring their sites. What's more is that these sites are Currently the layout, choice of background images, and use of text blocking really competes, in the fullest sense of the word, with what content has been added up to this point. Our site holds a lot of promise but we need to collaborate as a whole for it to reach its full potential.

Thank You,

Kerstin Strom

Brief sketch-up of potential direction the site could go